The Other Mother

Have you ever watched how other moms interact with their children? Sure you have.

Today a young mom in a grocery store stepped over her son while he laid flat on the floor in the cereal aisle having an all- out screaming tantrum (been there done that). As I passed slowly and smiled sincerely, she apologized profusely with sheer desperation and tears in her eyes. My heart immediately went out to her. Here is where things got interesting. There were two other women in the aisle and an older gentleman. One of the women had three small children with her and the other woman was carrying a baby in a Moby Wrap. It was as if we all had the same thought simultaneously. There was a connection. We stopped and walked toward the frazzled mom and asked if we could help. She began to cry. Now, I don't know about you but I have been down that road before and so had the other moms. Her first comment was "What am I doing wrong?" The Moby mom immediately responded. "You are not doing anything wrong. He is just expressing his anger...that is what 3 year old's do they don't get the cereal they want." We all smiled. I told her that she did the right thing by telling him that she would talk to him once he calmed down. She showed empathy without giving in to his demands to get his way. She also did not lose her temper. His temper tantrum lasted about one minute (in mommy years that seems like one hour). After the hysteria, the boy walked over to his mom and rested his tired head against her leg. She calmly explained to him that his behavior was unacceptable as she rubbed his back.

I noticed the older gentleman still standing in the aisle pretending to read labels on boxes of cereal. He walked over to us and said he thought it was great how we took time to support one another.

A SPECIAL GREETING FROM FRAN DRESCHER

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